Lateral moves by practice

Reports

• Antitrust Lateral Hiring 2026: Top 10 Firms Take 32.5% of Partners

  Antitrust partners move to a short list of firms: the top 10 hirers took 32.5% of partner moves, 2.4 times the market's 13.5%, and most arrivals land at firms of 1,000+ lawyers.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Antitrust Matters in 2026: A $8,300 Million Median Disclosed Value

  Antitrust work on the public record is small in count and very large per matter: the 8.7% of matters that disclose a value have a median of $8,300 million. Regulatory reviews, a sliver of the deal market, make up 30.7% of the practice.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Antitrust Path to Partner 2026: Home-Grown and Finished on Time

  Antitrust fills more of its partner seats by promotion than the average practice, and unlike employment law it does not keep associates waiting: 79.7% of its new partners got there within 12 years, against 75.4% market-wide.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Asset Managers and Funds on 12.3% of London Real Estate Deals

  London real estate work leans on investor clients far more than New York's does. Lateral hiring into the London cell held flat (-10.1%) while hiring in the practice as a whole rose 7.9%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Atlanta Litigation Laterals 2026: A Local Market, Smaller Buyers

  Atlanta litigation is hired from inside Atlanta: 8.8% of moves came with a change of city, against 19.6% for litigation across the practice and 17.2% for Atlanta as a whole. The buyers are smaller too: firms of 1,000+ lawyers took 30.2% of the moves, against 43.3% across litigation.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Banking and Finance Deals 2026: The Most Transparent Deal Flow

  Banking and finance deals publish a value 1.6 times as often as capital markets deals, at a median of $545 million. Lending leads the mix, and deal counts rose 12.1% while lateral hiring in the practice rose 14.1%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Banking and Finance Lateral Hiring 2026: A New York-London Market

  Banking and finance hiring runs on two cities. New York takes 21.5% of moves at an index of 145 and London 16.4% at 177, while Washington (50) and Los Angeles (67) sit well below their market weight.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Banking and Finance Path to Partner: Bought More Often Than Made

  Banking and finance promotes 0.57 lawyers to partner for each lateral partner it hires, against 0.79 across all practices, on a median track of 10.0 years that matches the market. The top 10 partner hirers take 25.1% of its partner moves.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Boston Litigation: 46 Open Roles, More Than Houston or Seattle

  Boston firm career pages listed 46 open litigation roles on the data date, against 29 in Houston and 31 in Seattle. Completed hiring held flat, the practice weighs less in the city than in the market, and firms of 150-399 lawyers buy an outsized share.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Boston M&A Lateral Hiring Runs Through Firms of 1,000+ Lawyers

  Boston corporate and M&A laterals join the largest firms far more often than M&A laterals elsewhere or Boston laterals in general. The pattern holds over 3 years, and the deal work behind it leans on biotech, software and venture clients.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Boston Patent Lawyers: IP Hiring Runs Far Above Its Market Weight

  Boston hires intellectual property lawyers at more than twice the market's weight, an index of 235, and partners tilt the scale further. The lawyers who move are patent prosecutors and life-science specialists, and the work behind them is pharma and biotech.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Capital Markets Deals 2026: Two Client Pillars, a Flat Partner Bench

  Capital markets work rests on banks and pharma, at 1.9 and 2.0 times their shares of all deals. Deal counts rose 10.0% while lateral partner hiring in the practice held flat (+1.1%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Capital Markets Lateral Hiring 2026: The Practice That Changes City

  Capital markets lawyers relocate more than their peers: 23.8% of movers changed city, against 20.5% market-wide. New York draws 25.0% of arrivals at an index of 169, yet it sent out slightly more lawyers than it took in, while overall volume stayed flat.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Capital Markets Path to Partner: 80.1% Promoted Within 12 Years

  Capital markets lawyers make partner sooner than most: 80.1% within 12 years against 75.4%, on an average track of 10.5 years against 11.1 years. Firms still promote 0.75 partners for each lateral partner they hire, close to the market's 0.79.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Charlotte Banking & Finance Laterals: Few Hirers, Mostly Associates

  In Charlotte, 23 firms made the banking and finance lateral hires of the last 12 months, and a short list of them took most of the moves. Associates were 67.7% of those moves, against 55.8% across the practice.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Chicago Banking & Finance: 29.0% of Laterals Changed City

  Chicago finance laterals relocate more often than finance laterals elsewhere or Chicago laterals in other practices: 29.0% changed city, and associates made 70.1% of the moves. Chicago offices still supplied at least 61.5% of arrivals over 3 years.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Chicago Employment Laterals Step Up 1.9 Times as Often as the City

  Employment lawyers who join Chicago firms step up in title far more often than the city's laterals overall and more often than employment lawyers across the practice: 16.2% against 8.4% and 13.5%. Partners are also a larger share of the moves, 30.9% against 22.4% across the practice.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Chicago IP Laterals Leave Big Firms More Often Than They Join Them

  Chicago IP lawyers leave firms of 1,000+ lawyers at the city's usual rate, but firms of 400-999 lawyers take 39.9% of arrivals, 1.5 times their share across Chicago.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Chicago Litigation Partner Moves Fell While the Market Held Flat

  Lateral partner moves in Chicago litigation fell from 84 to 63 while the city's litigation moves at every level held flat. Promotion is the other way in: 70 Chicago litigators made partner from June 2025 to May 2026, a separate window from the lateral figures.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Chicago M&A Lateral Hiring Rose 49.4% While the City Held Flat

  Corporate and M&A hiring in Chicago rose 49.4% on the year, ahead of the practice as a whole and of a city where total hiring held flat. Partner moves into Chicago M&A rose 61.9%, from 21 to 34.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Chicago Private Equity Partner Track: 47.3% Within 8 Years

  Chicago private equity promotes a larger share of its partners early than Chicago as a whole, New York private equity or the practice across the market. Lateral private equity hiring in Chicago rose 56.5% while the city's hiring held flat (+9.7%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Chicago Product Liability Hiring Runs Heavy on Partners

  Partners took 35.0% of Chicago product liability lateral moves over 12 months, a larger share than across the practice or across Chicago. The city's index on product liability partners stands at 195, against 146 for the practice at all levels.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Chicago Real Estate Hiring: Counsel Are 17.9% of Laterals

  Chicago real estate hiring leans on the counsel tier: 17.9% of laterals against 14.6% across the practice, while partners are a thinner 23.2% against 28.9%. Smaller firms and finance-minded lawyers shape the rest.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Commercial Contracts Lateral Hiring 2026: Partners Grown, Not Bought

  Commercial contracts is the practice where firms make the most partners for each one they hire: 1.18 promotions per lateral partner against 0.79 market-wide. Partner moves held flat at 39 against 38, and 40.7% of moves also carry corporate work.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Construction Lateral Hiring 2026: A Flat Practice in a Rising Market

  Construction lateral hiring held flat (-1.8%) and the partner count held flat (-4.7%), while the whole lateral market rose 9.0%. The hiring that does happen sits further from the largest firms than in any practice of its size.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Construction Partner Track 2026: Promotion or a Step-Up Move

  Construction firms promote 0.68 partners for each lateral partner they hire, against 0.79 market-wide, while 16.8% of construction movers join at a higher title, against 12.9%. A lawyer passed over at home can take the partner title by moving.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Corporate M&A Deals in 2026: 74.6% M&A, Tech the Largest Client

  M&A is 74.6% of corporate deal work and technology is the largest client sector at 14.0%, 2.1 times its share of all deals. Corporate deals rose 9.5% while corporate lateral hiring rose 15.8%: firms are hiring ahead of the work.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Corporate M&A Lateral Hiring Rose 15.8%, Faster Than the Market

  Corporate and M&A lateral hiring rose 15.8% against 9.0% for the whole market, and partner hiring kept pace at 12.2%. The practice also sends more of its lawyers in-house than litigation does.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Corporate M&A Path to Partner: Fast Track, Thin Pipeline

  Corporate and M&A promotes faster than the market, with a median of 9.0 years to partner against 10.0 years, yet makes only 0.75 partners for each lateral partner it hires. Since May 2026 its moves to companies have equaled 20.1% of its lateral moves, drawn from the bench those promotions need.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Dallas Litigation Hires in Teams as Partner Moves Rose 90.3%

  Dallas litigation hires in teams: 9.0% of its lateral moves were part of a group, against 2.0% for litigation across the practice and 5.5% for Dallas as a whole. Partner moves rose 90.3% while litigation partners across the practice held flat (+0.9%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Dallas M&A Laterals Skew to Partners Who Arrive Already Made

  Dallas takes an ordinary share of corporate and M&A lateral moves but an outsized share of the M&A partners who move. Those partners mostly held the title before they changed firms: few Dallas M&A laterals stepped up on the way in.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• DC Intellectual Property Hiring: Top 10 Firms Take 36.4%

  Intellectual property hiring in Washington runs through a short list of buyers: the top 10 took 36.4% of lateral moves, against 15.2% for the practice as a whole and 19.8% for Washington across practices.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Denver Litigators Make Partner Later: 68.0% Within 12 Years

  Litigators promoted to partner in Denver took a median 11.0 years, against 10.0 years for the city's partners, and the lateral partner hiring that could close the gap held flat at 26 against 32.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Employee Benefits Lateral Hiring 2026: Recruited From Employment

  Firms find benefits lawyers inside employment and tax groups: 42.5% of benefits moves also carried employment and labor work, against 10.7% of all moves. Benefits lateral moves rose 16.6%, while partner hiring held flat (+6.9%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Employment Lateral Hiring in 2026: A West Coast Market, Few Partners

  Employment lateral hiring leans west and light on partners: Los Angeles indexes at 218 and Seattle at 217 while New York sits at 68, and partners make up 22.4% of moves against 27.7% across all practices.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Employment Law Path to Partner 2026: More Home-Grown, Slower

  Employment and labor fills nearly as many partner seats by promotion as by lateral hire, more than the other large practices, and its associates wait longer for the title: a mean of 11.6 years against 11.1 years.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Employment Lawyers in London Move Toward Firms of 400-999 Lawyers

  London employment laterals move toward firms of 400-999 lawyers: they took 47.5% of three-year hires after supplying 23.1%, while firms under 150 lawyers supplied 17.9% and received 3.8%. Partners are a thin 15.3% of moves, against 29.3% for London.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Employment Matters in 2026: 93.9% Disputes, Public Employers First

  The public record of employment work is a disputes record: 93.9% of matters are contested, with government employers (10.7%) and healthcare providers (8.4%) as the largest client sectors. The matter count held flat (-1.2%) while lateral hiring into the practice rose 6.9%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Environmental Law Path to Partner 2026: The In-House Exit

  Environmental lawyers reach partner late at the end of the track and leave for companies more often than the market: 70.6% of new partners got there within 12 years against 75.4%, and companies hired 21 per hundred lateral moves against 13.1. Firms promote 0.71 partners per lateral partner hire.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Environmental Lawyer Lateral Moves 2026: A Market for the Next Title

  Environmental lawyers change firms to step up. In 12 months 16.8% of movers took a higher title against 12.9% market-wide, counsel were 19.5% of moves against 12.7%, and San Francisco hires at an index of 205.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Financial Services Regulatory Deals 2026: Work and Hiring Both Rose

  Financial services regulatory matters rose 37.3%, 3.5 times the pace of all dated deals, and lateral partner hiring into the practice rose 40.2%. Banks still anchor the work, but digital assets clients now sit in 16.0% of it.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Financial Services Regulatory Hiring in 2026: A Partner-Led Rise

  Financial services regulatory hiring is turning into a partner market. Partner moves rose 40.2%, from 82 to 115, while the market's partner moves rose 8.4%; partners were 47.9% of the practice's moves, against 27.7% market-wide.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Financial Services Regulatory Path to Partner: Few Made Early

  Early partnership is rare in financial services regulatory: 10.2% of its partners were promoted within 8 years, against 23.2% across all practices. Within 12 years the share reaches 72.1%, and firms buy more of these partners than they make.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Funds Deals 2026: Work Flat, Lateral Hiring Up 23.7%

  Funds deal flow held flat (+2.8%) on settled windows while lateral hiring into the practice rose 23.7% and partner hiring rose 29.7%. The deals are large, at a median disclosed $1,100 million, and fund formation is 39.1% of them.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Funds Lateral Hiring in 2026: The Moves Follow the Fund Domiciles

  Funds lateral moves over-index where funds are domiciled: Luxembourg at 1,065 against the market, Paris at 276, Boston at 189. Firms of 1,000+ lawyers take 75.8% of the hires, against 53.6% market-wide.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Funds Partner Promotions: A Quick Track That Still Buys Partners

  Funds and investment management lawyers clear the partnership vote sooner than the market: 79.4% within 12 years against 75.4%. Yet firms promoted only 0.58 funds partners for each lateral partner they hired, against 0.79 market-wide, and lateral partner moves in the practice rose 29.7%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Health Care Deals 2026: M&A Is 30.6% of the Matters on Record

  Health care work is transactional as much as contentious: M&A is 30.6% of 258 recorded matters and healthcare providers sit in 71.7% of them. The matter count held flat (+2.1%) while lateral hiring into the practice rose 14.5%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Health Care Lateral Hiring in 2026: Growth Below the Partner Line

  Health care laterals rose 14.5% on settled windows, faster than the market's 9.0%, yet partner moves stayed flat. The partner market that remains is concentrated: the top 10 hirers take 34.0% of partner moves, and Washington indexes at 225.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Health Care Path to Partner 2026: Buying Is the Default

  Health care associates make partner on the market's clock, a median of 10.0 years, and lateral partner hiring was flat. Neither explains why firms promote only 0.52 partners per lateral partner hire, against 0.79: buying is how the practice adds partners.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Houston Litigation Hiring 2026: Small Firms Supply, Midsize Firms Gain

  Over three years, 25.5% of Houston litigation laterals with a known former firm came from firms under 150 lawyers, and only 11.4% joined one. Firms of 400-999 lawyers took 29.0% of the hires after supplying 14.4%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Houston M&A Is Energy M&A: Oil and Gas on 28.5% of Deals

  Oil and gas clients sit on 28.5% of Houston M&A deals over 3 years, 9.5 times their share of the practice's deals over 12 months. Houston M&A lateral hiring rose 51.7%, in step with the city.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Houston Projects Hiring Rose 100.0% as the Practice Held Flat

  Lateral hiring into Houston projects and infrastructure rose 100.0% in a year when hiring across the practice held flat (+1.3%) and Houston as a whole rose 51.1%. The deal record behind it is led by power and renewables work, on 48.6% of its three-year deals.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• How Long to Make Partner in Tax: A Slower Finish, More Buying

  Tax associates start the partner track at the market's pace and finish it later: 72.4% are promoted within 12 years, against 75.4% across all practices. Firms answer the slow finish by hiring, promoting 0.58 tax partners per lateral partner against 0.79 market-wide.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Immigration Lateral Hiring 2026: A Short List of Mid-Size Buyers

  Immigration laterals go to firms of 400-999 lawyers (42.1% of moves, against 23.4% across the market) more than to firms of 1,000+ lawyers (32.7%, against 53.6%), and the top 10 hirers take 45.7% of individual hires, against 12.9%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• In Philadelphia Litigation, a Lateral Move Is Often a Step Up

  Philadelphia litigators who change firms join at a higher title more often than litigators across the practice, 17.3% against 13.4%, and more often than the city's lawyers in general. The buyers fit the pattern: fewer firms of 1,000+ lawyers, more midsize and small firms with room to offer the next rung.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Insurance Deals 2026: Matters Rose While Hiring Held Flat

  Insurance work grew and the bench did not: recorded matters rose 16.6% while insurance lateral hiring held flat (+2.5%). Most of the work is disputes for insurers, with a second, smaller M&A business beside it.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Insurance Lateral Hiring 2026: Concentrated Buyers, Flat Volume

  Insurance hiring runs through a short list of firms: the top 10 hirers take 31.9% of moves and 32.1% of partner moves, against 12.9% and 13.5% market-wide, while volume stayed flat on settled windows.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Insurance Path to Partner 2026: Made and Bought Near the Market's Rate

  Insurance and reinsurance groups promote 0.82 partners for every lateral partner they hire, close to the market's 0.79, and 76.3% reach partner within 12 years against 75.4%. With the track on the benchmark, the hiring firm decides an insurance partner search.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Intellectual Property in London: 4.1% of Moves, Led by Brands

  Intellectual property is 4.1% of London's lateral moves, an index of 55 against the market. The London bench that does move leans to trademarks and copyright, is mostly associates, and has almost no counsel in motion.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Intellectual Property Partner Track 2026: Firms Buy Finished Partners

  IP firms buy finished partners: partners were 34.4% of IP lateral moves against 27.7% market-wide, and firms promoted only 0.65 IP lawyers per lateral partner hired, against 0.79. The track itself is a little quicker than the market's, at a mean of 10.7 years against 11.1 years.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• International Arbitration Laterals 2026: London, Then the Seats

  London takes 28.4% of arbitration lateral moves, at an index of 307. Over three years the rest of the hiring sits in Paris, Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong more than in the US cities that dominate the wider market.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• International Trade Lateral Hiring 2026: 49.1% Land in Washington

  International trade lateral hiring centers on Washington: 49.1% of moves land there, an index of 876 and the largest single-city share of any practice. Partners are 40.6% of moves, against 27.7% market-wide.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• IP Lateral Hiring in 2026: Lawyers Move as Teams and Stay in Town

  IP lawyers change firms in groups and rarely change cities: 5.1% of IP moves were team moves against 1.5% market-wide, and only 15.9% changed city against 20.5%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• IP Matters in 2026: Up 20.9% While the Lateral Bench Held Flat

  IP matters rose 20.9% on settled windows, 2.0 times the growth rate of all dated deals, while IP lateral hiring held flat (+7.2%). The work is growing, the bench is not, and brand owners rather than technology or pharma companies supply the largest share of it.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Litigation Laterals in 2026: Midsize Firms Take a Bigger Share

  Litigation laterals land below the largest firms: firms of 1,000+ lawyers take 43.3% of moves against 53.6% market-wide, and with 928 hiring firms the top 10 take only 12.0%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Litigation Law Firms in Paris: An Associate-Heavy Lateral Market

  Paris litigation hires associates first: 73.2% of its lateral moves, against 57.7% across the practice. Volume fell 32.2% while all Paris practices fell 20.5%, and firms of 1,000+ lawyers took 76.4% of the hires.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Litigation Matters in 2026: No Client Industry Tops 5.7%

  Recorded litigation matters are scattered across hundreds of clients and dozens of industries: banks, the largest client group, appear in only 5.7%. Matters rose 9.3% on settled windows, in step with litigation hiring, which rose 7.5%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Litigation Path to Partner in 2026: Same Median, Longer Tail

  Litigation is the market's largest partner class, at 41.3% of promotions, and it promotes at the market's own make-or-buy balance. The difference is the slow end: the slowest quarter of litigation partners needs 13.0 years or more, against 12.0 years.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• London Banking & Finance Hiring Held Flat as the Practice Rose 14.1%

  Banking and finance moves into London were flat year on year, while finance moves across the market rose 14.1% and New York finance rose 28.5%. London still takes 16.4% of all finance moves, so the pause sits in a market that stays large.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• London Capital Markets Hiring: Debt-Led, More Mobile Than the City

  London capital markets laterals changed city in 18.5% of moves, more than London's 15.2% but less than the practice's 23.8%. The work they bring is debt: London's index for debt capital markets moves is 240, against 102 for equity offerings.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• London Construction Hiring 2026: Counsel Carry More Weight

  Construction hiring in London follows its practice, not its city: counsel take 15.8% of moves against 9.1% for London, and firms of 1,000+ lawyers take 49.1% against 68.5%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• London Funds Lateral Market 2026: Top 10 Hirers Take 56.7%

  In London funds and investment management, a short list of firms does most of the lateral hiring: the top 10 took 56.7% of moves, against 34.0% for the practice as a whole and 22.8% for London. Associates make up 62.2% of the market.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• London M&A Is an Associate Market: 63.5% of Lateral Moves

  London Corporate and M&A hiring runs on associates: 63.5% of lateral moves, against 57.7% for the practice as a whole and 60.4% for London. Counsel are only 8.2% of moves, and just 9.2% brought a step up in title.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• London Private Equity Lateral Market 2026: The Largest Firms Hire

  83.5% of London private equity laterals join firms of 1,000+ lawyers, against 71.6% for the practice as a whole and 68.5% for London. Over three years those firms took in 84.5% of these laterals and supplied 77.3%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• London Projects Hiring: Outsized Share, Flat Partner Line in 2026

  London carries far more projects hiring than its size predicts, an index of 147, and its projects laterals are more partner-heavy than the city's market. Partner hiring held flat in London and across the practice alike, and London's part of the practice's partner moves slipped from 18.1% to 15.1%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• London Restructuring Laterals: 17.9% Join at a Higher Title

  London restructuring hires step up in title more often than restructuring across the market or London as a whole: 17.9% against 16.5% and 11.5%. They do it with a partner-heavy mix and rarely change city.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• London Tax Partner Hiring Moved With the City, Not the Practice

  Tax partner moves across the practice rose 27.7% year on year, while London tax partner moves held flat (-7.7%). All tax moves into London held flat (+0.0%) as well: the city's tax market followed London, not the practice.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• London's Tech Hiring Tilts to AI: Index 183, Privacy 135

  London over-indexes on AI lateral moves at 183, well above its 135 on privacy and 132 on the practice. The London technology cell rose 50.0% year on year while the city held flat (-2.5%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Los Angeles Employment Hiring Is a Wage and Hour Market

  Los Angeles takes 23.0% of wage and hour lateral moves, an index of 455 against 218 for employment overall, and wage and hour is a focus for 63.2% of the city's employment laterals against 47.7% in San Francisco.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Los Angeles Finance Deals Tilt to Leveraged Finance at 35.3%

  Leveraged and acquisition finance carried 35.3% of Los Angeles finance deals over 3 years, against 23.4% across the practice over 12 months, where banking and lending leads at 44.5%. Financial sponsors are the city's largest client industry on those deals.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Los Angeles IP Hiring: Mid-Size and Smaller Firms Take Most Moves

  Los Angeles intellectual property laterals join firms outside the 1,000+ lawyers class far more often than IP laterals elsewhere or Los Angeles laterals in general. The 3-year record leans the same way, and the work behind it is copyright and brand work.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Los Angeles Lateral Hiring Runs on Litigation and Class Actions

  Litigation is involved in 59.4% of Los Angeles lateral moves, an index of 149 against the market, and class actions are a focus for 27.9% of the litigators who moved, against 12.3% in New York.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Los Angeles M&A Partner Track: Faster Than the City Around It

  Los Angeles M&A lawyers reach partner sooner than the city's lawyers overall: 31.8% made it within 8 years, against 18.3% across Los Angeles and 29.5% across the M&A practice. The city's slow partner track is not an M&A problem.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Los Angeles Product Liability Hiring: The Same Firms Keep Buying

  The ten most active firms took 46.3% of Los Angeles product liability hires over 12 months and 45.6% over 3 years, against 16.7% and 14.9% for the city, and most of the same names top both lists. Firms of 1,000+ lawyers took 38.2% of the group's hires, against 47.0% across Los Angeles.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Los Angeles Real Estate Lateral Hiring in 2026: A Home-Grown Market

  Los Angeles real estate groups hire lawyers who already practice in the city: fewer of their laterals changed city than real estate laterals across the practice or Los Angeles laterals overall, and a small group of firms takes a large share of the hires.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Making Partner in London Litigation: 12.0 years Against 11.0 years

  London promotes its litigators later than its other lawyers: 10.7% reach partner within 8 years, against 18.7% across the city's practices. Litigation is also a small part of London lateral hiring, with an index of 47 against the market.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Miami Litigation Partner Hiring Runs Through a Short List of Firms

  Sartori & Partners data show 47 litigation partners joined Miami firms laterally in 12 months, and most of them went to a handful of buyers. Partner hiring here is tighter than across the practice and tighter than in Miami as a whole, while more of the movers come from other cities than in litigation elsewhere.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Miami Product Liability Takes 19.9% of the City's Lateral Moves

  Product liability and torts weighs far more in Miami than market-wide: the city's index in the practice is 289. Over the settled 12 months Miami product liability moves rose 44.2%, while the practice held flat (+2.3%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Minneapolis Litigation Hiring: Counsel Take 23.3% of Moves

  Minneapolis litigation hires counsel at 1.6 times the practice rate: 23.3% of lateral moves against 14.4%. Volume rose 76.5% on the settled 12-month windows, while litigation across the practice rose 7.5%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Nashville Litigation: Few Firms Hire, Small Firms Supply the Laterals

  Nashville litigation hiring sits with very few buyers: 22 firms hired 55 lateral lawyers, and the ten most active took 78.2% of the moves against 12.0% across the practice. The talent comes from a wider base, with small firms an unusually large source.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• New York Antitrust Hires Arrive in Teams at 9.3 Times the City Rate

  12.1% of antitrust lateral moves into New York came as part of a team, against 4.4% across the practice and 1.3% for the city. Partners make up 43.9% of the moves, and hiring rose 42.9% while antitrust across the practice held flat (+7.7%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• New York Capital Markets Hiring Tilts to IPO and Reporting Lawyers

  New York takes a far larger share of public company reporting and IPO lawyer moves than of capital markets moves overall, with indexes of 227 and 181 against 169. Those hires also stay local: 7.5% changed city, against 23.8% across the practice.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• New York Construction Hiring Fell in 2026 as the City Grew

  Construction lateral moves into New York firms fell 27.8% while the city's lateral hiring rose 11.9% and the practice held flat (-1.8%). Mid-size firms, not the largest, do the most buying.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• New York Employment Lateral Hiring Rose 25.4% From a Low Base

  New York employment hiring rose 25.4% over the settled 12 months, while the practice rose 6.9% and the city as a whole rose 11.9%. The climb starts from a share below New York's weight in the market: an index of 68.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• New York Finance Partner Hiring Rose 32.7% as the City Held Flat

  Finance partner moves into New York rose 32.7% while partner hiring across the city was flat and finance partners across the market rose 10.6%. Partners are 34.8% of finance moves into the city, against 28.3% of all New York moves.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• New York Funds Laterals: 7.9% Changed City, Against 20.4%

  Funds lawyers who joined New York firms changed city far less often than funds lawyers across the practice, and less often than New York's own lateral market. The cell still grew faster than both: the bench is home-grown, and it is getting busier.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• New York Insurance: M&A-Heavy Matters, Coverage-Heavy Hiring

  New York insurance work leans to deals, while the lawyers who change firms are coverage litigators, many from small firms: M&A is 37.0% of the city's insurance matters over three years, against 18.9% of the practice's deals over 12 months.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• New York IP Leans to Media Clients and Copyright Hiring

  Media and entertainment companies are the client on 10.3% of New York IP matters over 3 years, against 4.8% of the practice's matters in the latest 12 months. Copyright hiring in the city scores 141 on our market index, while IP as a whole sits under the market at 93.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• New York Litigation Hires Like Litigation, Not Like New York

  New York litigators move on the pattern of litigation everywhere, not the city's big-firm one: firms of 1,000+ lawyers take 43.8% of them against 62.6% for New York as a whole, and smaller firms pick up the difference.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• New York M&A Lateral Hiring: Ten Firms Take 35.5% of Moves

  A short list of large firms does most of the lateral buying in New York M&A. The ten most active hirers took 35.5% of moves, against 21.6% for the practice as a whole and 21.5% for New York, and firms of 1,000+ lawyers took 73.7%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• New York Privacy Hiring: 60 Open Roles, 66 Moves in 12 Months

  New York firms list 60 open technology and privacy roles against 66 lateral hires in 12 months, and hiring in the city grew faster than across the practice. Cybersecurity, not AI, is the largest specialty in the mix.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• New York Private Equity Hiring: Counsel Take 18.6% of Laterals

  Counsel made 18.6% of New York private equity lateral moves over 12 months, against 11.2% for the practice as a whole and 12.6% across New York. Total moves rose 22.8%, to 232 from 189, while partner moves held steady at 88 against 88.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• New York Product Liability Laterals Rarely Step Up a Title

  A smaller share of New York product liability laterals join at a higher title than across the practice. Over the settled 12 months the cell fell 27.3%, while the practice held flat (+2.3%) and New York rose 11.9%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• New York Projects Hiring 2026: Partners Take 44.3% of Lateral Moves

  New York projects and infrastructure hires partners at a far higher rate than the city around it, and 90.2% of its lateral moves land at firms of 1,000+ lawyers.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• New York Real Estate Hiring Rose 28.4% as Partner Moves Held Flat

  Real estate lateral moves into New York rose 28.4%, well ahead of the practice across the market (7.9%) and of the city (11.9%). Partner hiring held flat (+3.4%), so the growth sits below partner level.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• New York Takes 24.4% of Restructuring Lateral Moves, Mostly Local

  New York takes 24.4% of all restructuring lateral moves, an index of 165, rising to 178 among the city's partner moves. Partners are 45.9% of these hires against 28.3% citywide, and only 7.1% changed city.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• New York White Collar Laterals Trade Big Firms for Smaller Ones

  New York white collar lawyers leave the largest firms more often than they join them: over 3 years firms of 1,000+ lawyers supplied 60.3% of laterals and hired 45.8%, while firms of under 150 lawyers took 15.1% after supplying 10.3%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Paris M&A Hiring Fell 29.7% as the Practice Rose 15.8%

  Corporate and M&A lateral hiring in Paris dropped to 71 moves from 101 while the practice grew market-wide. The deal work did not go away: Paris M&A lawyers were on 652 deals in 12 months.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Path to Partner in Regulatory Law: 11.0 years, Not 10.0 years

  The median regulatory partner is promoted 11.0 years after the first year of practice, 1 year later than the market median of 10.0 years. Fewer make it early, and firms fill more of the gap with lateral partners.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Private Client Lateral Hiring 2026: Most Moves Skip the Largest Firms

  Private client lawyers move to mid-size and small firms: firms of 1,000+ lawyers took 18.9% of moves against 53.6% across the market, firms under 150 lawyers took 18.9% against 9.7%, and 25.6% of movers also changed city.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Private Client Path to Partner 2026: Longest Among Larger Practices

  The slowest quarter of new private client partners took 14.0 years or more to make partner, and only 66.2% got there within 12 years, against 75.4% market-wide. The lateral bench sits mostly outside the largest firms.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Private Equity Deals in 2026: Partner Hiring Outpaces Sponsor Work

  Private equity deal counts rose 10.4% year on year, and lateral partner hiring in the practice rose 16.1%. Firms are adding sponsor partners faster than sponsor deals grow, in a book where financial sponsors are the client on 83.9% of deals.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Private Equity Lateral Hiring in 2026: Partner-Heavy and Concentrated

  Partners are 38.1% of private equity laterals against 27.7% across the market, and the top 10 hirers take 27.0% of all moves, 2.1 times the market's concentration.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Private Equity Law Firms in Paris: A Short List Does the Hiring

  22 firms hired private equity lawyers in Paris over 12 months, yet the ten most active took 72.0% of the moves, against 27.0% across the practice and 41.5% across Paris. Firms of 1,000+ lawyers took 89.8%, and volume held flat.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Private Equity Path to Partner: Fastest Clock, Bought Partners

  Private equity has the shortest road to partner of any practice we track, a mean of 9.8 years against 11.1 years. It still promotes only 0.68 partners for each lateral partner it hires, against 0.79 market-wide, and its lateral partner hiring rose 16.1%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Product Liability Lateral Moves in 2026: A Counsel Market

  Product liability hiring runs through the counsel tier: counsel are 16.8% of moves against 12.7% market-wide, and 15.7% of movers join at a higher title, while volume stayed flat as the market grew.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Product Liability Matters in 2026: 5.9 per Client

  Product liability work runs through repeat clients: 5.9 recorded matters per client in 12 months, nearly all of them disputes. Individuals and healthcare providers are the largest client sectors, and both matters and hiring held flat.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Product Liability Path to Partner in 2026: A Fast Lane and a Slow Lane

  Product liability partners reach the title on two clocks. More make it within 8 years than in the market, 25.4% against 23.2%, yet fewer within 12 years, 72.4% against 75.4%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Projects and Infrastructure Deals 2026: Power and Renewables Lead

  Power and renewables clients appear in 57.1% of projects and infrastructure deals, 13.9 times their share of the whole market, and 70.4% of the work is project finance. Deals rose 26.2% on settled windows while lateral hiring held flat (+1.3%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Projects and Infrastructure Lateral Hiring 2026: A Partner Market

  Projects firms are hiring partners, not teams. Partners make up 38.6% of moves against 27.7% market-wide, but partner moves held flat (+16.5%) and the practice as a whole held flat (+1.3%) while the market grew. Houston hires at an index of 409.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Projects and Infrastructure Partners 2026: Made Late, Hired Instead

  Projects and infrastructure lawyers reach partner later than the market: 66.9% within 12 years, against 75.4%. Firms fill the gap from outside, promoting 0.54 for each lateral partner hired (market 0.79), while lateral partner moves in the practice held flat (+16.5%), a gap inside the noise at these counts.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Public Law Lateral Hiring in 2026: A Washington Market

  Public law hiring is a Washington market: 26.0% of lateral moves land in the capital, an index of 464 against the market. Volume held flat (-4.9%) while the market rose 9.0%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Public Law Matters in 2026: Clients Are Institutions, Not Companies

  Public law work is bought by governments, nonprofits and schools, and 80.6% of it is contested. Matters rose 8.8% on settled windows while lateral hiring in the practice held flat (-4.9%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Public Law Path to Partner 2026: No Rush to Buy Partners

  Public law lateral partner hiring held flat (-1.0%) while partner moves across the market rose 8.4%. Firms make partners at the market's own ratio, and the median new partner gets there in 10.0 years, though a long tail lifts the average.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Real Estate Deals 2026: Institutional Capital Drives the Work

  Property companies and institutional investors account for most real estate deal work: real estate clients appear in 59.0% of deals, asset managers in 11.1%. Deals rose 9.6% while lateral partner hiring in the practice held flat (-8.6%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Real Estate Lateral Hiring 2026: Moves Up, Partner Line Flat

  Real estate lateral moves rose 7.9% on the settled year, but the partner line held flat (-8.6%), from 476 to 435, while partner moves across the market rose 8.4%. The extra volume sits with associates and counsel.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Real Estate Partner Track 2026: 0.65 Promotions per Lateral Partner

  Firms made 308 real estate partners in the 12 months to May 2026, yet promoted only 0.65 for each lateral partner they hired, against 0.79 market-wide. The lateral partner count held flat (-8.6%) on the settled year, so the gap is the practice's normal mix, not a hiring spree.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Regulatory Lawyer Lateral Moves in 2026: A Market of Senior Hires

  Regulatory and compliance hiring runs senior: partners were 42.5% and counsel 16.0% of lateral moves, against 27.7% and 12.7% market-wide. Volume held flat, so every senior hire comes out of a pool that is not growing.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Restructuring Deals 2026: Partner Hiring Runs Ahead of the Work

  Firms added restructuring partners faster than the recorded work grew: lateral partner hires rose 21.1% while the matter count held flat (-5.5%). The matters that disclose a value are large, at a median of $620 million.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Restructuring Lateral Hiring 2026: Partners Are 41.5% of Moves

  Restructuring is a partner market. Partners are 41.5% of its lateral moves against 27.7% market-wide, and partner moves rose 21.1%, faster than the practice as a whole, which rose 10.0%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Restructuring Path to Partner: The Practice That Buys Most Partners

  Restructuring makes fewer partners per lateral hire than any other practice: 0.47 promotions for each lateral partner, against 0.79 across all practices. The track itself is not the reason: 73.0% of its partners were promoted within 12 years, close to the market's 75.4%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• San Diego Litigation Hiring Leans on Class Action Lawyers

  Class actions are the focus of 25.6% of San Diego litigation laterals over three years, level with commercial litigation at 26.9%, and San Diego's index on class action hiring, 459, is the highest of any city with published figures. 23.2% of the city's litigation moves changed city, with Los Angeles the largest outside source.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• San Francisco Employment Hiring Runs on Associates: 70.1%

  San Francisco employment hiring leans on associates more than the practice or the city does, and counsel are scarce at 7.8% of moves. Over 3 years the top 10 hirers took 42.4% of moves, against 26.6% across the practice.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• San Francisco IP Laterals: 11.2% Arrived as Part of a Team

  Intellectual property hiring in San Francisco runs on teams more than either reference market does: 11.2% of laterals arrived with colleagues, against 5.1% for the practice as a whole and 2.4% for the city. Counsel make up 17.3% of the moves, and pharma and biotech companies are the client on 31.1% of the matters on record.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• San Francisco Litigation Hiring Held Flat as the City Rose 30.1%

  Lateral moves into San Francisco litigation groups held flat on the year, while the city's lateral market rose 30.1% and litigation across the practice rose 7.5%. The partner hiring that did happen sat with few firms.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• San Francisco M&A Hiring: Venture Deals Are 24.3% of the Work

  San Francisco M&A lawyers do venture work at a rate New York does not approach: venture and growth deals are 24.3% of their deals over 3 years, against 7.5% in New York M&A, and technology clients sit on 31.3% of them against 15.3%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Seattle Litigation Hiring Rose 50.0%, Far Faster Than the Practice

  Seattle litigation hiring rose 50.0% in a year, while litigation across the practice rose 7.5% and Seattle as a whole held flat (+18.0%). Firms of 1,000+ lawyers absorbed 67.3% of the moves, against 43.3% across litigation.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Tampa Litigation Hiring 2026: Midsize Firms Take the Laterals

  Litigation in Tampa is hired by firms of 400-999 lawyers and 150-399 lawyers, which took 63.2% of the city's litigation laterals over three years. The largest firms, which take 43.3% of litigation moves overall, take 13.2% here.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Tax Lateral Hiring in 2026: Partner Moves Outpace the Market

  Tax partner moves rose 27.7% year on year, 3.3 times the market's partner rise of 8.4%. Partners now make up 37.9% of tax laterals, against 27.7% market-wide.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Tax Partner in New York: Made Later Than the City, Hired More

  New York makes tax partners late: 12.1% were promoted within 8 years against 20.3% across the city, and the median ran 1 year longer. Firms buy instead: lateral partner moves into New York tax rose 65.2% while the city's partner moves held flat (+3.7%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Technology and Privacy Lateral Hiring 2026: Companies Compete Too

  Companies hire technology and privacy lawyers out of firms at 2.3 times the market rate, more than twice as often per lateral move, while lateral partner moves in the practice rose 44.4% against a market that rose 8.4%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Technology and Privacy Path to Partner: Normal Clock, Hiring Surge

  Technology, data and privacy lawyers make partner on the market's clock, a median of 10.0 years against 10.0 years. The change is at the lateral door: partner moves rose 44.4% against 8.4% market-wide, and firms promoted 0.76 partners per lateral partner hired, against 0.79.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Washington Antitrust Hiring Held Flat While the City Grew 12.4%

  Antitrust lateral hiring in Washington stayed level at 51 moves against 67 while the city as a whole rose 12.4%. The bench behind that count is senior and local: partners took 52.9% of moves, against 32.4% across the practice.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Washington DC White Collar Hiring: 19.7% of Moves, 55.3% Partners

  Washington takes 19.7% of all white-collar lateral moves, an index of 351 against the market, and partners are 55.3% of them, against 41.6% across the practice and 37.7% across the city.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Washington Finance Hiring: 18.2% of Laterals Stepped Up in Title

  Washington banking and finance laterals step up a title and arrive with a team more often than finance laterals in other cities or Washington laterals in other practices: 18.2% moved up and 9.1% came as a group. Both happen in a city where finance is a minor practice.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Washington Health Care Hiring Rose 68.8%, Led by Partners

  Health care lateral hiring in Washington rose 68.8%, against 14.5% across the practice and 12.4% across the city. Partners took 52.8% of the moves, and ten firms took 50.9% of the hires.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Washington Litigation Hires Partners Like Washington, Not Litigation

  Washington litigators move on the city's level mix, not the practice's: partners are 38.6% of the flow against 27.4% for litigation across the market, and team moves run at 5.5% against 2.0%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Washington M&A Partner Hires Stayed at 31 While the City's Rose

  Partner hiring in Washington corporate and M&A stood still at 31 lateral partners against 31 a year earlier, while partner hiring across Washington rose 18.2% and across M&A rose 12.2%. Most of the city's partner demand sits in litigation, investigations and government work.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Washington Public Law Hiring Stays Local: 7.4% Changed City

  Washington public law is hired from inside Washington: 7.4% of laterals changed city, against 22.8% for the practice and 15.7% for the city, and 77.8% of 3-year arrivals came from Washington firms.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Washington Regulatory Hiring: 72.1% Joined Firms of 1,000+ lawyers

  Washington regulatory lawyers move up the size ladder. Over 3 years, 63.5% of their moves went to firms of 1,000+ lawyers while 54.4% came from them, and in the last 12 months the large-firm share ran above both the practice and the city.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Washington Trade Hiring: 66.9% of Movers Focus on Export Controls

  Washington's trade bench is a national security bench: export controls and sanctions is the focus of 66.9% of its lateral movers and foreign investment review of 50.4%. The city holds 49.1% of the practice's moves, and partners took 50.0% of them.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• White Collar Lateral Hiring in 2026: A Market That Stays Local

  White-collar laterals rarely relocate: 15.6% changed city against 20.5% across the market, and Washington alone took 19.7% of moves. A firm that wants this bench has to recruit where the lawyers already sit.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• White Collar Path to Partner in 2026: Late Start, Normal Finish

  White collar promotes almost nobody early: 12.8% of its partners made it within 8 years, against 23.2% across all practices. Within 12 years the practice has caught up, at 72.8% against 75.4%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026